Philip Bailey hits a great groove here – working with Nile Rodgers, who gives him a lean, clean sound that works perfectly with his vocals! The sound is a nice change from the direction Bailey was heading in previously – a return to the focused soul of the later Earth Wind & Fire years, with his amazing lead opening up in ways that few other singers can match. Tunes are pretty well-penned too – catchy, but never cloyingly commercial – and titles include "State Of The Heart", "Welcome To The Club", "Special Effect", "Because Of You", "Take This With You", "The Day Will Come", "Back It Up", and "Echo My Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Earth Wind & Fire touch the world with this sweet batch of grooves – a set of tracks that has them firmly embracing the electric sound of 80s soul, yet still bringing in some light spiritual touches of their own! The beats are pretty heavy at points – making for plenty of groovers – but the group almost seems to shine most on the ballads, which continue to provide a perfect showcase for the vocals of Philip Bailey and Maurice White. A few cool studio touches reference the group's earlier history – a nice reminder amidst the more contemporary sounds – and titles include "You & I", "System Of Survival", "Every Now & Then", "Money Tight", "Here Today & Gone Tomorrow", "Victim Of The Modern Heart", and "Thinking Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

The Powerlight is burning bright – Maurice White, Philip Bailey, and the rest of the group still very much in classic formation! Even on a post-70s set like this, Earth Wind & Fire still manage to come up with tracks that beat the rest of the ensemble funk groups that grew up in their wake – groovers that still set a new level for the boogie generation, and mellow tracks that cross over beautifully without ever getting to soppy or adult contemporary. The balance is a tricky one, but the group always manage to pull it off – and guide the whole presentation of work here with enough class and care to show that the whole thing's the result of genius planning, and not just some happy accident! Titles include "Something Special", "Miracles", "Fall In Love With Me", "Straight From The Heart", and "Spread Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Cyndi Lauper, The Bangles, Luther Vandross, Teena Marie, Philip Bailey, REO Speedwagon, and The Goon Squad. LP, Vinyl record album

Kinsman Dazz are even funkier here than before – showing off their Ohio roots, and pointing the way towards the classic Dazz Band sound they'd forge in the 80s! Rhythms are very tight throughout – but still often touched with the jazzy elements that made the group so great in their early years – echoing a bit of an Earth Wind & Fire sound, as Philip Bailey's on board to help a bit with arrangements and background vocals. The whole thing's great – a super-tight record without any filler at all – and titles include "I Searched Around", "Love Design", "Keep On Rockin", "Can't Get Enough", "Dancin Free", and the wonderful "Catchin Up On Love", a spacey harmony track with a really anthemic sound! LP, Vinyl record album

The title's no joke, as Earth Wind & Fire are definitely part of the electric universe of early 80s Columbia Records – the galaxy that also includes Herbie Hancock during his electro years! As a result, there's a lot more keyboards and electric rhythms in the set than before – a new setting for the still-positive expressions of the group – one that works especially well on the mellower cuts! These really have the group opening up their best ballad modes – stretching out to crossover nicely, yet still with a quality level that's head and shoulders above most of their contemporaries. Of course, the sweet vocals of Philip Bailey really help put over some of the best cuts too! Titles include "Moonwalk", "Touch", "Could It Be Right", "Sweet Sassy Lady", "Spirit Of A New World", and "We're Living In Our Own Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet 80s classic from Finis Henderson – and the kind of record that should have launched him on a much bigger run as a lead singer! Despite the plastic look of the cover, the album's really solidly put together – produced by Al McKay with a vibe that definitely echoes his work with Earth Wind & Fire, and a style that also shows some of Henderson's roots in the Chicago group Weapons Of Peace – which means lots of jazzy inflections with the grooves, in a style that works perfectly for Finis' style of singing. And given that Henderson has a range that sometimes hits Philip Bailey territory, the match is a great one – and gives the album a sense of class that other Motown soul from the time didn't always have. Titles include "Lovers", "Making Love", "Skip To My Lou", "Vina Del Mar", "Crush On You", "I'd Rather Be Gone", and "You Owe It All To Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A great one – and the kind of European jazz album that kicks like a Clarke/Boland Big Band album! Hans Koller directs a large-scale swinging big band of some of the best European and American expatriot players of the time – like Sahib Shihab, Benny Bailey, Donald Byrd, Johnny Griffin, and Albert Mangelsdorff – and the set screams with intense solos, and a tight groove that pushes past any of the cliches you could imagine for a set like this. One of the things that makes the session great is some groovy organ, played by Infried Hoffman, the German player who was in Klaus Doldinger's early group. Doldinger's also on here, and his sound is way better than on his 70's work. Titles include "Hip Hit", "Revelation", "Conversation", "Knodel-Waltzer", and "Blazy Bones Revisited". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer batch of large ensemble numbers – very much in the mode of the Clarke-Boland Big Band, or some of the other groups on MPS at the time! The group's led by Jerry Van Rooyen, the Dutch jazzman and composer who did some excellent funky soundtrack work over the years – a fact that certainly shows up in the tracks on the set – which have a sweetly grooving feel mixed in with the large ensemble jazz – a great approach that would have been right at home in some hip Euro film score from the time! Van Rooyen gives the material a soulful feel that's a lot like some of Quincy Jones' best scoring from the 60s – blending together work on organ, Fender Rhodes, and piano (played by Frans Elsen, Rob Madna, and Rob Franken) – with breakaway horn solos by players like Benny Bailey on trumpet and Rolf Ericson on trumpets, Ake Persson and Jiggs Whigham on trombones, and Herb Geller, Ferdinand Povel, and Tony Coe on reeds – most of whom are players who've sparked great notes previously on sets with the Clarke-Boland Big Band, or other hip MPS ensemble projects. Titles include "Sonlite", "Because I Love You", "Some Blues", "For Nathalie", "The Runners", "JBW", "Green", and "Whirligig". LP, Vinyl record album

A really nice one from Gerry – an oft-overlooked mid 60s session, one that has him working with a sextet that includes Jim Hall, Art Farmer, and Bob Brookmeyer, in addition to usual Mulligan rhythm-mates Bill Crow and Dave Bailey. There's a nice soulful bottom to the set, and stronger interplay from the horns than you might get in a Mulligan album of a few years before – nothing fancy, but a strong set of original tunes that break from the mode of the 50s. Titles include "Tell Me When", "Festive Minor", "Wee Small Hours", "Prelude In E Minor", and "Night Lights". LP, Vinyl record album